Oxfordshire County Council Elections 2005-2017

Since the 1970s, Oxfordshire has never had majority control by a party other than the Conservatives, but there is a strong opposition there based primarily on the Lib Dems in rural areas and the wealthier northern part of the city of Oxford, plus Labour in the majority of the city and some Greens. Although Oxford is thought of as a small-c conservative city, it is actually one of the most anti-Tory places in the country, to the point that even in the Tory wave year of 2009 the Conservative vote remained miniscule and Labour actually gained seats (at the expense of the Greens). UKIP secured a reasonable vote in 2013 but failed to win any seats, coming closest in a Witney division. In 2016 when David Cameron resigned and a by-election was held in the broader Witney constituency (taking in much of the west of Oxfordshire) the Lib Dems fought the election hard and earned a respectable votescore; in the county council election of 2017 they may be looking to convert the data they collected and presence they established in Witney into winning back some of its county council divisions, which they last held in 2005. Also, one of the former Green county councillors (who also contested the Witney by-election for that party) was Larry Sanders, the older brother of US 2016 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.

2017 UPDATE: Oxfordshire was a comparative bright spot for Labour and the Liberal Democrats in what was nationally a huge wave for the Conservatives; in Oxfordshire the Tories finished one seat short of a majority. Labour lost three seats outside their Oxford stronghold to the Tories (though Witney South & Central, widely predicted to be one such loss, actually swung towards Labour) but gained two seats in Oxford by sweeping up the Green Party. The Greens' collapse was an unpredicted surprise of the night, with them finishing third in one division they had won in 2013. The Liberal Democrats also went on the offensive and gained two seats from the Conservatives, one being Charlbury & Wychwood, in which Liz Leffman unseated Conservative deputy leader Rodney Rose: something likely made possible by data collected by the Lib Dems during the Witney by-election following David Cameron stepping down from Parliament. The independents elected in 2013 retained their seats and were joined by the Henley Residents as Henley-on-Thames shifted out of Conservative control.